Massive mudflow hits mountain resort town in Georgia

A massive mudflow hit the mountain resort town of Shovi in the Racha region of Georgia on August 3.

Furthermore, according to the country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, the incident is known to have claimed at least 18 lives so far, while 17 more are still missing.

A search and rescue operation is being conducted, involving helicopters, rescue dogs, 400 fire fighters, drones and the police, while more than 210 people were evacuated from the area.

As for the causes that led to the mudflow, Georgia’s National Environmental Agency said in a statement that intense melting of the Buba and Tbilisa glaciers combined with heavy precipitation played a major role, while they noted that no large-scale landslide was observed. However, they identified 5 processes that led to the result.